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Here in Schleckland, we all know that Jakob is an extremely good cyclist, not to mention a startlingly good-looking boy, but he's just given an interview to Cycling News that shows how his tact and diplomacy skills have improved over the last couple of years.

The interview - which I'm sure you've all read, but it's here if you haven't - is a really mean one: the interviewer asks seriously hard questions about Jakob's feelings about Bruyneel and Uncle Bjarne, whether they should be banned for life, whether Andy was working as hard as he could do, what Jakob felt about Uncle Bjarne selling the team, etc.

How on earth do you answer questions like those, with a reporter and his tape recorder in front of you, without jeopardising the rest of your career?

Answer, you do it as Jakob did - calmly, sensibly, without getting over-dramatic, and refusing to be goaded into saying anything that might be thrown back in your face later.

However, the most interesting thing - from our point of view - is where Jakob made a point within the interview about having his critics:

"It’s more the people writing on blogs here and there. They’ve not had the trust in me and didn’t believe that I could do it. I think some felt that I was a spoilt little kid who was riding on big teams."

Wow! Jakob reads blogs!! *waves enthusiastically* Hi, Jakob!  If it makes you feel any better, it's nothing personal -  you should read some of the things they write about Our Andy - it seems that any and every successful rider/athlete/pop star will have truly horrible things written about them somewhere on the internet:  the trick seems to be to ignore them.  We think you're lovely!

(As an aside, LLB asked me, in a puzzled voice, last year, "why do you always refer to 'the lovely Jakob' ?" *snorts through nose - have you not seen him?!*)

Meanwhile, somewhere in Luxembourg:

(Andy is sitting on the sofa, reading Cycling News. TinkerJil is sorting fan mail at the table. Martine is in the kitchen with Frankie, they are laughing and teasing each other as she tries to make coffee with Frankie putting mugs etc out of her [somewhat pregnant] reach. The apartment door opens, and a glorious yellow glow lights up the room.)

Andy: "Jakob! Put out that torch! Honestly, that whole yellow glow is so last year..."
(he turns and grins over his shoulder as Jakob walks in, bearing a basket of biscuits.)
Jakob: "Hey, Happy New Year everyone. What are you reading, Andy?"
Andy: "Some idiot gave an interview to that Benson bloke,  it's hilarious."
Jakob: "Who?"
Andy: "Daniel Benson - you know : "Outside of cycling, he enjoys GoPro-ing, web-developing, and serving and loving God."
Frankie: (leaning out of the kitchen) "Huh?  "
Martine: (leaning round him) "I think that's the Cyclocross Benson, isn't it?  "
TinkerJil: (looks up from huge pile of fan mail) "Yes - you mean the Benson that is the editor of Cycling News.  "
Andy: (grins) "Yep, that's the one.  "

Jakob: (plonking himself down on the sofa) "So what has this idiot been saying, then?  "
Andy: "Well, for a start, there's a comment about me not working as hard last year as I could have.  " (he pulls a threatening face at Jakob.)
Jakob: "And your point is?  "
Andy: "Aww, c'mon, cracked pelvis - cut me some slack, I had pain right down inside myself for months, and there were days when I thought I was never going to ride properly again. You can't blame me for not wanting to push myself, in case I made it worse.  "

(Jakob laughs, and punches Andy on the shoulder)
Jakob: "yeah, I know.  Better now, though, right? "
Andy: "Much better. "
Jakob: "Good. Because Astana and I are going to stomp all over your skinny little Schleck-ass this season....  "

Andy thwacks Jakob with a cushion, the dog starts barking, TinkerJil starts giggling, and the doorbell rings.

Martine answers the door. It is a courier, delivering the first box of new kit for Andy and Frankie...

Well spotted, Schlecklanders - Our Andy is back on Twitter, and very kindly posted this lovely pic of himself and TinkerJil:






He's looking so happy,  she's looking gorgeous (and turning into Olivia Wilde, which is no bad thing!) and there's that Baby Bump for all to see.

And yes, there is still that delicate little ring on her third finger - we would have liked to have seen a hulking great wedding ring, but all things will come in time.

In answer to the question, I don't think it's a specific custom in Lux to have the wedding after the baby,  it's just that Frankie and Martine did it - they had their civil wedding on the New Year, quietly and privately, then had the beautiful big white dress day the following summer, after Leea was born.  So it's entirely possible that Andy and TinkerJil might do the same: it's their business, not ours, but yes, I would like to see them married.

And thank you, Barbara, for reminding us of that old Schleckland post: there was Martine on her "proper" wedding day, looking fabulous, holding a bouquet in one hand and baby Leea in the other, and I was cheeky enough to make a comment about Martine looking lovely, while repeating under her breath "hold baby, throw bouquet: HOLD baby, THROW bouquet".

Well, I thought it was funny!

It will be New Year in a couple of days' time, so here's best wishes to Andy and Jil, to all the Schlecklanders, and to all the riders, for a happy, prosperous and drug-free new year! (Oh, except for Jil, of course - she's allowed to have whatever she wants to get through the birth!!)

Yes, Schlecklanders, it's that time of year - it's nearly Christmas, it's nearly the new season, and we haven't had any cycling to watch for weeks and weeks.

The transfer season has been the strangest ever, with no-one daring to leave a team which still has sponsors, meanwhile the remaining teams are hanging on and hanging on about making offers, in order to get the best possible bargain.

Even Sky "Huge Budget" Procycling have only announced a ream roster of 25: makes you wonder if they are waiting for a last-minute bargain somewhere.

We even have a rider who won a Grand Tour last year, without a contract for next year! (Mad Dog Horner, that is.)

Still, we can put all that behind us for now, and turn our thoughts away from racing, and towards the personal side of it all - with very best Schleckland wishes to Our Andy for a super, super Christmas.

Tinkerjil must be getting pretty "round" by now, with the new baby due about March/April time, we think - and the pair of them must be so excited. This time next year, they'll be having their first Christmas as a family - d'aaaw!

Hey Andy, if  you don't know what to get Jil for a gift - get her a wedding ring! Go on, do the right thing, do what Frankie and Martine did: nice quiet civil wedding now, then after the baby arrives, have a big summer outdoor "do" so that we can all come and throw gel wrappers confetti at you. (This is not an idle threat, I do have a passport now.) It's the right thing to do - avoids all that business with children not having the same surname as their parents, which is just confusing...

Christmas wishes also to Frankie and Martine:  he'll be off to the Tour Down Under in a few weeks (*waves to Leelu*) with Jensie,  can't wait to see the new kit - so go, Frankie, go! Stay, Jensie, stay!

And to all Schlecklanders past, present, and future, Have a Super Super Christmas!

Love to all of you,

Auntie Coug

Frankie, mate, I hate to sound critical but I think you've been eating too much during your recent break from racing...

Bad news today, it seems that Mr "Froth at the Mouth on Twitter" "Slightly Insane" Tinkov has actually bought out Uncle Bjarne, and will be taking over team Saxo Bank.

It's been rumoured for a couple of days, and there's going to be an announcement on Monday, apparently.

This is utterly  unwelcome news - as we all know, Tinkov is one of those Becca-style rich blokes, who knows something, but not quite enough, about how cycling works, and who knows nothing about the difference between Investment (put money in, get money out, preferably more than you put in) and Sponsorship (put money in, never see it again, but get kudos and publicity).

He's already spoiled the end of this season for Saxo, by throwing his toys out of the pram at Contador's "failure" to beat Frome at the Tour, and announcing that he - and his money - would be leaving the team. This threw them into a panicky search for another sponsor, at a time when sponsors are disappearing into the dust, and at a time when Uncle Bjarne himself is coming under scrutiny for his doping past.

Tinkov tried to buy into a couple of other teams, but failed: then he announced that he would build his own team, so there, nar nar nar nar: and now he's decided to buy Saxo for himself.

I can't imagine that this is going to end well.

Can you?

As mentioned this morning, I can't answer any comments - wah! What on earth are google up to, I wonder?

Anyway, in answer to the comments on A New Schleck on the way,  I have this to say:

Frankie's own Twitter, huh, Brisbane Gal? Yes, I think that would count as a "good source" for the information!

I haven't so much as looked at Twitter in weeks, err, possibly months: I just haven't had the time. Work, work, work... and I finally had to buy a new pc, as the old one's operating system was no longer supported, plus I was finding it a bit tiring to have to keep turning the big handle on the side to get it to go.  And it's taking me forever to get it up and running properly, as every single thing I want to do is now a different version, many years improved from the versions I've been using, and therefore completely different. *sigh* So I haven't had much time for "playing" about on Twitter etc.

Midge! Hey! *big Schlecklander hug* Wow, thanks for that link, what a super interview. Wish Andy would give one that long, ha ha!  As my French is pretty rusty, I ran it through google translate and some of it was hilarious, if not quite what was intended...

And yes, more amusement, the new baby is due on Leea's birthday, which could be interpreted to say that they only get together once a year, on the same day... no! Only joking! Also, I note the confirmation that Jil is indeed expecting,  so yay! for them as well - and for older brother Steve. My goodness, the average number of Schlecks in Luxembourg is suddenly going to rise steeply, isn't it?

We'd better all start knitting baby clothes - if only we knew what the new team's colours are going to be...

Great news! And thanks to Brisbane Gal for mentioning it on the last post, as I hadn't heard it myself - so, is it true that Frankie and Martine are having a second baby?

I do hope so, it's about the right time for Leea to have a little sister or brother - oh, probably a little brother, as Frankie hasn't been racing much in the past year.

Sorry, what was that?  Why do I say that?

Well - settle down now, children - a lot of cyclist subscribe to the theory which says that babies conceived during the heavy workload of a major Tour, or the middle of a busy season, are more likely to be girls, as the father is using up all his testosterone on racing.

It certainly worked for Marky Mark (Cav) as his little girl was conceived mid-Tour.

I don't think there has ever been any proper scientific research into the idea, which is odd, as it seems like quite an easy one to check. For as start, we could ask if Jensie would consent to comment on the idea - after all, he has a good number of test subjects to check on!

Anyway, this could be a new little brother then, a new nephew for Andy, and another cousin for Andy and TinkerJil's expected baby.

D'aaw!

I guess the only downside is that both families will be buying new baby clothes, instead of being able to pass them around.. or no, thinking about it, if TinkerJil is due in March, they might be able to economise by using Leea's outgrown clothes, then passing them back to Martine for her new baby a couple of months later... ah, it could all work out very well indeed!

Well, I have trawled the cycling news and not found any mention of it, but that's not surprising as the cycling journos have been very reticent to mention either Our Andy or Frankie (unless they can get the "D" word into the headline, of course) lately.

But we just have to hang on for a new more weeks - soon, we should start seeing leaked examples of the new team kit, and lists of the riders, and so on. So keep your eyes out, Schlecklanders, and do feel free to report back with any news that you spot!  I'm having a slightly strange problem with this blog at present, I can't respond to any of your comments directly, other than as "Anonymous" which would be a bit odd.  And might lead to certain people (you know who you are) pretending to be me, and getting me in trouble with the Andyhab overseers. So please don't be miffed if I don't respond to your comments!